Dark Chocolate Fig & Almond Shortbread
A shortbread cookie with an Italian twist!
Growing up, my mom used to make a dessert that was filled with figs, nuts & chocolate surrounded by a flaky crust. I wanted to make a simpler version of that and I thought shortbread was the perfect choice. I gave my sister-in-law a couple to try when I made these for the fist time and she wanted the recipe immediately! That’s a good sign!
Enjoy!
xoxo
SiLLibake
Dark Chocolate Fig & Almond Shortbread
Shortbread with an Italian Twist!
Ingredients:
Yield: 48 cookies
3 cups/419 grams all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1¼ cups/284 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup/175 grams granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk, room temp
½ cup/76 grams roughly chopped dried figs
½ cup/76 grams lightly toasted almonds with the skin on, roughly chopped
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
Directions:
Whisk together flour and salt in a medium bowl, set aside. Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat at medium-high speed until the mixture is pale in color, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula, as needed. Add egg yolk and blend until combined
Add flour and salt mixture and mix on low until combined. If there are dried bits of flour left around the bowl, use a rubber spatula to incorporate. Add dried figs, toasted almonds and chopped chocolate and fold in with a wooden spoon (I find that a spatula isn’t sturdy enough to incorporate everything or you can use your hands to mix everything)
To form the cookies, line an 8- by 8-inch baking pan with plastic wrap and leave a generous amount of overhang on all sides to fold over the dough once you are ready to refrigerate. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and flatten in an even layer (use your hands or the back of a measuring cup) Cover with plastic wrap and chill dough 8 hours or overnight before baking.
To bake the cookies, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using the plastic wrap overhang, remove the dough from the pan and cut the square into three equal rectangles. Each rectangle will give you 16 cookies for a total of 48. Cut each rectangle crosswise into roughly ⅓-inch-thick slices and lay them flat on the prepared baking sheets, about ¾-inch apart. (If the dough crumbles when slicing, simply push the mixture together to reform the cookie.) Bake until lightly golden on the bottom but still blonde on the edges, 14 to 17 minutes.
Remove from the oven, allow cookies to cool on the sheets.
N.B. You don’t have to make all 48 cookies at once. Freeze tightly wrapped dough for up to a month.
How to Store Them:
The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Inspired by Sue Li’s Recipe
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